Applications of the ion beam technique for investigations of hypervelocity impacts

In the presentation we report on experiments at the Karlsruhe Light Ion Facility KALIF employing high-resolution laser-Doppler velocimetry. The schemes of possible EOS experiments using interferometry and the dynamics and the limiting factors of the ablative hypervelocity launching are discussed as well as advantages of the ion beam technique for investigations in the field of hypervelocity impacts and equations of state. So far, we have accelerated aluminum foils of 10 to 30 mu m thickness to velocities beyond 12 km/s. Besides the beam power, the limiting factors for the launching are melting of the accelerated flyer plate as a result of shock-wave heating and the heat transfer from the energy deposition zone. The experiments considered include the Hugoniot measurements and measurements at unloading of shock-compressed state down to the vaporization region. Parameters of shock waves that cause melting of aluminum, copper, molybdenum and titanium in release have been measured with a pulse proton beam on KALIF. A way of measurements in the vaporization region has been tested with explosive facilities. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.